15/01/23 - Ivy House - Old Match Lake

Weight - 32lb 8oz (8lb - silvers)

Catch - 4 Carp, 11 Skimmers, 2 Roach

Weather - Wet start, sunny later, but breezy

Match - Christmas (42 fished) - 3rd overall

Today was another rescheduled Christmas match and we were spread over the whole complex so plenty of room for most. At least the wind had dropped, and it was forecast to be dryer than yesterday, although there was more rain in the morning.

At the draw it was good to see Andy in the café, who was looking well after his hospital emergency last week and a relief for Karen, I’m sure.

Peg 12 on the Old Match Lake was ok and with only 7 on the lake I had plenty of space, with Andy Lord on p10 to my left and Steve Waters on p18 to my right.

On the all in, as the wind had dropped I went straight out to 16m tapping in a few micros fishing a 4mm expander, however this only lasted less than 5mins as the wind picked up again making presentation awkward.

Therefore, I switched to the straight lead and corn cast between the island, expecting to leave it for up to 30min. 5mins I couldn’t quite believe it when the tip went round and a 6lber was safely netted.

No further fish followed on either corn or bread, so switched to fishing at 13m fishing double pinkie over groundbait (black lake : black intelligent) with pinkie and a few micros. I had no skimmers, but hooked another carp, which I took my time with on 0.09 bottom and 5 elastic. I re-fed another ball of feed and whilst that settled I cast a mini method loaded with groundbait and micros, fishing double dead reds, along the island to my right and was rewarded with 2 more carp in 2 casts.

So 2hrs in and 24lb in the net was a great start and I could see very little being caught elsewhere, although I couldn’t see the anglers on the opposite bank.

The next hour was uneventful as I tried for another. Therefore, decided to see if I could add some skimmers to boost my weight. Switching back to the 13m line I had 5 skimmers in 15mins before they disappeared.

Moving into the last hour I had already primed a new swim a metre off the p13 pallet, feeding micros and started pinging 4s at 16m to my left. Fishing an expander down my margin didn’t produce, but I had skimmers and a couple of decent roach on maggot. I tried big potting maggot and micros hoping for another carp, but this just produced another skimmer.

Over the 16m line I had hoped the wind would drop long enough to allow me to fish the pole, but it was easier to fish the straight lead where I caught a 1.5lb skimmer, but no carp.

I picked up the section as 1^st and 2^nd came from the other side of the lake and hopefully starting to find some form at the venue which has sadly eluded me recently.

Back at the café, Karen laid on some lovely food which was very welcome.

1.    45-  8 – Dan Squires – p3 (old match lake)

2.    33-  0 – Joff Rogers – p7 (old match lake)

3.    32-  8 – Ken Rayner – p12 (old match lake)

4.    32-  7 – Dan Driscoll – p8 (heron)

5.    28-12 – Nick Milsom – p9 (heron)

6.    21-  2 – Mark Hammond – p35 (moorhen)

14/01/23 - Todber - Hillview

Weight - 47lb 8oz

Catch - 12 Carp, 3 Skimmers, 1 Tench

Weather - Wet & windy start. Dryer later, but colder and still windy.

Match - Christmas Match (71 fished) 

Today was the rescheduled Christmas Match and although 90 booked in, 71 turned up. I was with Tony Gilbert and Matt Banks in the draw queue. Tony drew 51, Matt 53 and I was on 52 again. How does that happen?

Must admit I wasn’t particularly happy, as the wind was blowing into the arm of the lake, and it rarely fishes well when all pegs are in. Whilst that is the luck of the draw, pegs 42 and 48 weren’t drawn thanks to the no shows.

Having drawn the peg only 2 weeks ago I at least knew the contours of the peg which is one of the deepest and with the wind blowing strongly left to right, presentation was going to be challenge.

I decided to start on the method to far bank which didn’t produce and neither did the straight lead and meat towards the pipe or the 2+2 line.

I eventually caught a carp on the method after 45mins and it was slow going for most, probably as a result all the recent heavy rain. After 90mins it stopped raining and the wind had dropped. Since I was struggling to catch, I quickly set up a rig to fish at 13m fishing corn over micros. A couple of skimmers, then a carp and the signs were promising, however after 15mins the wind picked up again I couldn’t fish this line for the rest of the match. Fishing the straight lead and corn over the top resulted in a couple more carp, but I couldn’t feed the line properly due to the wind.

I kept rotating lines, picking up the occasional fish and going into the last hour I was ready to pack up, as the wind moved slightly to a north westerly direction, and it was becoming increasingly colder.

The last 45 minutes was my best period when the 2+2 line kicked into life as the wind dropped a little and I probably had over half my weight in that period.

A disappointing day and I think Tony and I were probably close to last on the lake, so just not the right area on the day.

1st: Simon Stacey 184lb 2oz (90 HG)

2nd: Steve Organ 176lb 1oz (84 HG)

3rd: Phil Hardwick 175lb 14oz (58 HV)

4th: Lee Jan 171lb 0oz (80 HG)

5th: Ash Tomkins 160lb 2oz (83 HG)

Whitepost Top Lake Section: Greg Welsby 140lb 2oz (8)

Firs Section: Mark Wynn 95lb 0oz (33)

Hill View Section Low Numbers: Gary O'Shea 133lb 0oz (38)

Hill View Section High Numbers: Richard Wyatt 144lb 12oz (54)

Ash Section: Simon Dimment 132lb 8oz (69)

Homeground Section: Dwayne Seed 154lb 4oz (89)

09/01/23 - Ivy House - Old Match Lake

Weight - 15lb 0oz

Catch - 1 Carp, 7 Skimmers, 2 Roach

Weather - Blustery, sunshine and showers

Match - Winter League rd 4 (50 fished) - 3rd in section

The penultimate round of the Winter League and it was my turn for the Old Match Lake. With an outside chance of getting into the paying top 8 places I was happy to draw peg 7.

Following yesterday’s heavy rain, it was noticeable the water levels were up a bit and combined with a stiff wind blowing left to right into my end of the lake I wasn’t sure how it would fish.

My plan of attack was to look for an early carp, concentrate on the silvers mid match, which after last week I was confident of catching a few, then hope for a few carp late on.

Well, it didn’t go according to plan. Due to the wind, I couldn’t fish beyond 11.5m which is where I deposited 2 balls of groundbait (Black Lake & Black Intelligent) with a few micros, pinkies and caster. Whilst that settled, I cast the straight lead and double corn into the gap between the islands.

I left the rig for 30mins. Despite a couple of liners, sadly no pulls, but so far I hadn’t seen anyone catch.

Switching to my silvers line was really disappointing. I thought I might had fed too much, so set up a 2^nd swim more negatively, but only caught 2 small skimmers and 2 roach. The wind was making presentation difficult and I thought a light cage feeder might work, so I walked back to the car to get my light feeder rod, which I didn’t expect to use and once back at my peg the wind had dropped!

I could at least now fish longer and caught a pound skimmer from the aerator to my right. Although the wind was still problematic, I could at least fish 16m towards island with the aid of a bump bar, where it was a little shallower.

I fed a few micros and maggot with a single maggot on the hook and with 70mins remaining hooked what was a decent carp on .10 bottom and 8 elastic. It took me 10mins, but I eventually netted a 10-11lber.

Hoping for a few more carp I switched to a .12 bottom and a slightly heavier elastic, fishing double maggot and caught 5 skimmers – where were they earlier in the match?

I also tried the straight lead and corn again, as well down my margin without success.

With a few seconds remaining Jason on p5 hooked a carp, which denied me 2^nd in section in what turned out to be a very tight section.

Overall, relieved to finished 3rd in section which leaves me 11th in the league and hoping for a flyer in the final round. A tricky day, but nothing compared to Andy who was rushed to hospital with a bleed on the brain, so fingers crossed for a speedy recovery.

1.    45-  8 – Dave Parmenter – p23 (willow)

2.    40-  8 – Andy Dixey – p8 (heron)

3.    38-  4 – David Strafford-Way – p41 (kingfisher)

4.    37-  8 – Jamie Durrup – p10 (heron)

5.    34-  4 – Mark Poppleton – p4 (heron)

5.    34-  4 – Rob Guppy – p24 (heron)

01/01/23 - Ivy House - Old Match Lake

Weight - 12lb 1oz

Catch - 30 Skimmers, 17 Roach

Weather - Cloudy, breezy.

Match - Open (19 fished) - 1st in silvers

Todays match would be a rover over the Old Match Lake and Willow and I was surprised 19 had booked in for New Year’s Day. 

I had 17^th pick and I expected slim pickings. Most had picked Willow and I was surprised that p18 was still available. Having not drawn this peg before I decided to give it a go and it would be a useful practice for next week’s Winter League. The peg also offered some protection from the breeze. 

As this lake has been fishing really hard recently, I set up a proper silvers rig with 0.09 bottom, size 20 hook and 5 elastic, something I haven’t done for some time. I also set up another silvers rig to fish 2mm expanders/maggot a few metres off the end bank, where it was slightly shallower. 

On the all-in a ball of groundbait (Black Lake & Black Intelligent) with pinkie & caster was cupped in at 14m and a pinch of micros and caster at 14m along the end bank.

Whilst that settled, I cast the straight lead and double corn to the island. After 15mins without any indications I switched to the open water swim and started catching small roach straight away, then hand sized skimmers mostly on double pinkie, toss potting pinkie and caster.

Along the end bank I had 2 better skimmers (12oz – 1lb) almost immediately on 2mm expander, but that was it. In fact, this swim was disappointing. Even going 16m only produced a couple more skimmers and tiny roach.

Therefore, I spent most of time in the open water, topping up with a small ball of feed when needed and pinging caster over the top helped keep the fish coming.

After 3 hours I was up to 30 fish, however the 4^th hour was really slow catching only 3 or 4 fish. A new swim was set up at 16m, with another ball of groundbait, pinkie and caster. After an initial slow start the skimmers returned until the end the match, plus a couple of roach over a short line.

Fortunately, very few of the big skimmers fed, which meant I won the silvers, ending my poor run at the venue. It also made a pleasant change fishing with light kit and plenty learned for next week.

1.    60-10 – Carl Mulford – p24 (Willow)

2.    36- 1 – Jason Crump – p10 (Old Match Lake)

3.    25- 7 – Mark Sisson – p9 (Old Match Lake)

4.    20- 8 – Nigel Reeves – p22 (Willow)

5.    20- 1 – Baggy – p34 (Willow)

Silvers

1.    12- 1 – Ken Rayner – p18 (Old Match Lake)

2.      8- 2 – Jason Crump – p10 (Old Match Lake)

3.      7-15 – Eddy Marsh – p1 (Old Match Lake)

4.      6-15 – Steve Martin – p26 (Willow)

31/12/22 - Todber Manor - Hillview

Weight - 154lb 0oz (7lb 2oz - silvers)

Catch - 40 Carp, 8 Skimmers, 1 Crucian, 1 Perch, 1 Tench

Weather - Mild, wet & windy

Match - Open (21 fished) - 8th overall, 4th in section

After a much-needed confidence boost at my club water on Thursday catching over 100lb, I was looking forward to catching a few today. However, the weather was awful with wind and rain forecast all day. 

We were all on Hillview and I drew p52 which can be a good winter peg. At least the wind would be blowing over my left shoulder but I didn’t fancy fishing the long pole due to the wind. 

Plumbing up at 2+2 I bumped into a few fish and decided to start the match here on 8mm meat, feeding 7mm meat and hemp. I had a reasonable start and when the swim faded after 45 minutes, I started feeding micros instead of hemp, which provided a kick start. 

Of the anglers I could see, Phil Hardwick on p49 was running away with it helped by p50 not being drawn, and I seemed to be ahead of the other anglers. 

After 2hrs more silvers were showing over my short line, including a big perch and I didn’t get the feeling there was a high concentration of carp in front of me. A switch to the straight lead and meat cast towards the pipe resulted in a few fish, but generally it was a little slow and with the except of one decent sized fish, the rest were a smaller stamp than I was catching over the short line.

Therefore, I stuck with the short line feeding more heavily to pull the carp back. I did consider fishing a little longer, but the wind was only getting stronger. I started feeding my left-hand margin with meat and micros hoping for a strong finish, but this was a little slower than expected and the remainder of the match was spent switching between the 2 lines.

I had hoped I might squeeze a section pick up but I needed at least 200lb. Still, I had a great day’s fishing even if it was very wet.

1.    256- 0 – Phil Hardwick – p49

2.    231- 8 – Trigger – p38

3.    202-10 – Simon Stacey – p41

4.    202- 4 – Pemb Wrighting – p58

5.    186- 4 – Ash Tomkins – p44

24/12/22 - Ivy House - Kingfisher

Weight - 2lb 0oz

Catch - 1 Skimmer, 2 Roach

Weather - Mild, slight breeze

Match - Open (16 fished) - 13th overall

There were 16 of us on the canals, Kingfisher and Moorhen. I fancied drawing the bottom end of Kingfisher or any peg on Moorhen, however p45 was probably one of the worst pegs at the wrong end, and although it can throw up a few fish in the winter, to be honest I didn’t expect it to be as hard as it was.

With no silverfish pool today the focus was on catching carp. I tried dobbin bread along the far bank and lost 3 foul hookers at half depth. Andy on p44 was also having the same issue, as the fish just seemed to be content swimming along the far bank without feeding.

In the end I caught on maggot over a little bit of groundbait and was pleased when the all-out was called. The melted ice during the week meant the water was still very cold.

1.    57- 4 – Gary Knight – p27 (Moorhen)

2.    33-10 – Rob Guppy – p50 (Kingfisher)

3.    18- 7 – Carl Mulford – p33 (Moorhen)

4.    14- 5 – Chris Timms – p28 (Moorhen)

5.    11-15 – Baggy – p35 (Moorhen)